A nice piece from TWS contributor Martin Morse Wooster appeared in yesterday's TCS Daily, seems very appropriate for the holiday.

BALTIMORE—It's a lovely early summer day in the Chesapeake Bay, and everyone with a boat knows it's time to grab the bathing suits and some crabs and head for the water. The Bay is jammed with sailboats, speedboats, and other pleasure craft.

But the fun-seekers crowding the waters are about to see something few Americans in this century have seen. Two deadly Japanese bombers, a Zero and an Aichi D3A, are coming in from the southeast.

The Zeroes approach menacingly, their lime-green fuselages glistening in the bright summer sun. They dive and swoop towards the water, coming closer, ever closer, getting ready to unleash their payload.

Luckily, the Americans have protection. One lone ship stands between the Zeroes and downtown Baltimore. It fires its 20-caliber machine guns towards the Zeroes, the weapons swooping clockwise as the Japanese planes head west. Finally, three American bombers show up: a P51D Mustang, a P-40E Warhawk, and a lumbering B-25J Mitchell bomber.

American firepower saves the day. The Japanese planes belch white smoke as they slink off to their eastern base.

Go read the rest, and enjoy the barbecue.